Connor Bedard’s goal a ‘big relief,’ ‘blindside hit’ on Taylor Hall: Blackhawks observations

BOSTON — The Chicago Blackhawks seemed to have at least one line they could count on to drive play and create offense.

After spending nearly all of training camp together, the line of Taylor Hall, Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato began the regular season on a strong note. It was the Blackhawks’ best line in their season-opening win against the Pittsburgh Penguins and picked up where it left off early on in Wednesday’s game against the Boston Bruins. Hall picked up an assist on the Blackhawks’ lone goal in the 3-1 loss.

But that all came to a screeching halt in the second period when Taylor Hall was knocked hard to the ice by the Bruins’ Brandon Carlo. Hall was slow to get up, then left for the dressing room. He attempted to return later in the period but lasted one shift and didn’t return again.

Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson didn’t have all the details yet but described Hall’s injury as likely being week to week.

“He’s probably going to be out for a little bit, just (an) upper-body injury,” Richardson said. “But I think it was unfortunate. We just have to plow through. He was playing really well for us.”

The Blackhawks also took exception to Carlo’s hit.

“That’s a blindside hit,” Richardson said. “That’s a guy coming across the ice, for sure. That’s what the game is trying to get rid of. I know exactly what it is because I used to do it all the time. But now it’s not in the game. So we just hope that there’s not a lot of those there that we see because they’re not great for anybody.”

Nick Foligno also questioned the hit. He and Hall were making a return to Boston after playing with the Bruins the past few seasons. Both were recognized in a video tribute during the first media timeout.

“Former teammate, it’s a hard one to judge, but just seemed like he didn’t have the puck. And tough, tough position to put him in,” Foligno said. “Didn’t really like the hit, but hopefully he’s going to be all right. Haven’t really talked to him.”

Richardson might have to experiment with the lines again in the coming days. He tried a few players with Bedard after Hall went down.

Things didn’t go so well for Arvid Söderblom the last time he started for the Blackhawks. He gave up seven goals in a loss on Dec. 18, 2022, then was sent to Rockford.

Söderblom had moved on mentally from that performance long ago, but he officially moved on from it Wednesday. He was solid throughout the game and made some key saves early and late to keep the Blackhawks in it. He finished with 30 saves on 32 shots.

“He was great for us,” Richardson said. “Early in the game, they came out with a barrage. Then, late in the third period, he kept it 2-1 for us. Made some really big saves that we had a chance to pull him and try to get an extra attacker. Unfortunately, the bounce on that faceoff went to them, and it was over pretty quick.”

Söderblom hasn’t had much luck getting offensive support with the Blackhawks the past few seasons. He’s lost his last 10 consecutive starts dating back to last season despite probably deserving better on a handful of them.

Bedard stood in the corner of the tiny visitors dressing room in TD Garden and held up the puck with which he had scored his first NHL goal. He was stone-faced. You don’t smile after losses.

First NHL goal ✅ pic.twitter.com/yEsrRSMQnf

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 12, 2023

But he did say the goal — a nifty wraparound after a smooth zone entry, a quick give-and-go and a shot on goal — was a “big relief” to get out of the way in just his second game.

“I remember being behind the net and kind of seeing it, and I was just like, ‘Don’t screw this up,’” he said. “And then once it went in, a lot of joy, for sure. That moment, it’s what many people in the world dream of, and I’m very fortunate to be able to be put in this position and get a chance like that.”

Bedard had a golden opportunity to tie it with about five minutes left in the game when he took a pretty feed from Lukas Reichel — in Hall’s spot on the left wing — and got a partial breakaway out of it. But Linus Ullmark stopped the shot and the follow-up, with Bedard crashing hard into the end boards. “I’m great, I’m fine,” he said.

The Blackhawks want to give Reichel a long leash as the second-line center, but Richardson said he’s an option to fill in for Hall on the top line with Bedard and Donato. Richardson said with three creative players like that, their starting position doesn’t much matter because they’re going to fill all the lanes and cover each other in the middle.

Bedard, for one, is a fan of Reichel’s.

“He’s a special player, and I love even watching him,” Bedard said. “He’s going to be so good. He’s had so many chances here; they’re going to start going in, and he’s going to light it up.”

There’s not a lot to nitpick about Bedard’s game. We know about the shot, and his playmaking is high-end, too. He has an uncanny ability to anticipate a loose puck and to arrive at just the right time to not only get the puck but also make a play with it.

However, one thing Bedard will need to learn — and this only comes from experience — is shift management. He tends to linger on the ice a little too long and to perhaps push himself a bit too hard at the end of shifts. It’s common for players making the transition from juniors (where they dominated) to the pros. We saw this most prominently Tuesday in Pittsburgh, when more than a minute into a shift, he took the puck off Kris Letang’s stick at the blue line and charged down the ice hoping for a breakaway. The fresher Letang easily tracked him down and smeared him into the boards. The smarter play would have been to get past the red line and chip it in for a change.

Against Boston, Bedard had a shift that lasted two minutes, 17 seconds. That’s all well and good when you’re setting up shop in the offensive zone, and you can tell the adrenaline is high right now and he’s going all out all the time. But learning to conserve his energy and understanding when to pick his spots will make him a more effective player.

Speaking of Letang, he had high praise for Bedard after spending much of the opener trying to push him around.

“He’s the real deal,” Letang told our colleague Josh Yohe. “You can just tell. He’s so shifty, so fast. You have to be physical with him. You have no other choice. He reminds me of (Auston) Matthews. They’re built different, but in terms of his dangerous shot and how he can change the angle, he’s got that kind of shot. He’s impressive.”

If Jason Dickinson had time to stop, think and take stock of the situation, maybe he would have just taken the power play. After all, the Blackhawks were down a goal early in the third period, trying to tie the score. But when you see your young teammate get hit from behind and sent face-first into the boards, you don’t think. You act.

So after Boston’s John Beecher boarded Cole Guttman with an ugly hit, Dickinson didn’t hesitate to step in and throw down. The instigator penalty he received nullified the power play the Blackhawks would have gotten from the boarding minor, but nobody on the team minded.

“I fight with those ones, too,” Foligno said. “But when you’re building a culture in here, when you’re building a bond, those are necessary sometimes to show we’re not just going to allow those hits to happen. … That’s what makes Dickie such a great teammate. That’s why he is who he is; he’s a leader on this team. Because he didn’t think. You just defend your teammate. You don’t allow your teammates to get hit like that. Those are the ones you do avenge.”

Richardson said Dickinson’s fight was “great” and didn’t lament the lost power play.

“In the long run, that instinct to protect each other is going to go a long way,” he said. “I think we’ll take that over the power play tonight. In the long run, I think there’s going to be less of that because teams are going to know that we’re going to be a little bit more of a stand-up team, and hopefully there’s less collisions like that from behind.”

(Photo: Steve Babineau / NHLI via Getty Images)